May 1, 2025
Tabitha Gray
Service Canada
Our May guest speaker was Tabitha Gray. She is a Citizen Service Specialist with Service Canada in Salmon Arm. She started in this outreach position during the pandemic in 2021 and has seen many changes within the role.
Tabitha told us about the various programs and services available through Service Canada, and more importantly, how to find out about them.
The following links cover a lot of the services and programs we would be looking for from Service Canada.
As a general starting point, go to the government's website at www.canada.ca
A more personable way is to call them at 1-800- O Canada (1-800-622-6232). This is a great resource to find contact information for Government of Canada programs and services. It's available Monday to Friday from 8:30 am to 5 pm.
You can learn and plan for retirement by calling 1-800-277-9914 or going to https://www.canada.ca/en/services/retirement.html. Here you'll find links to:
take the quiz to help with retirement planning
learn about your retirement income options, and tips for your OAS/CPP pension choices
find links to the Canadian Retirement Income Calculator & Old Age Security Benefits Estimator
apply for public pensions
a link to access the My Service Canada Account
For OAS pension amounts and calculator go directly to https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/publicpensions/old-age-security/payments.html
Canadian Dental Care Plan
Call 1-833-537-4342 or go to https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/dental/dental-care-plan.html
***If you are already registered, your renewal of coverage needs to be done by June 1st to avoid gap in coverage.
Canadian Passports
Call 1-800-567-6868 or start at https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/canadian-passports.html
The Adult General Form can be found at https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/ircc/migration/ircc/english/passport/forms/pdf/pptc153.pdf
The Adult Renewal Form can be found at https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/ircc/migration/ircc/english/passport/forms/pdf/pptc054.pdf
The Child Form can be found at https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/ircc/migration/ircc/english/passport/forms/pdf/pptc155.pdf
Travel
Information about travelling from Canada can be found at https://travel.gc.ca/
Travel advice and advisories by destination can be found at https://travel.gc.ca/travelling/advisories